Food Consumption Behaviors and Growth of Preschool Children in Child Development Centers, Thasala District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Abstract

At present, preschool children are still found to have growth that does not meet the criteria because of inappropriate food consumption behaviors. Parents and teachers play an important role in caring for children but still lack practical guidelines. This descriptive research aimed to study food consumption behaviors and growth of preschool children in the child development center and to propose a guideline for promoting food consumption behavior and growth of children. The sample group consisted of 1) 268 preschool children aged 2-5 years old attending the child development center were obtained by simple random sampling, 2) 21 persons, including administrators and teachers by purposive sampling, from 4 child development centers in Tha Sala District Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Data were collected by using a questionnaire for obtaining general information, a nutritional status record form, a food consumption behavior assessment form, and the group discussion guidelines. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The results showed that most of the preschool children had appropriate food consumption behaviors (74.8%), and inappropriate food (25.2%). Most children are growing up according to their age. Among them, 74.3% of children had normal nutritional status, but some children still had malnutrition problems, found that thin children outnumbered those that were obese. It was suggested that promoting child’s growth can be done through: 1) raising awareness among teachers about the importance of child consumption behaviors and growth, 2) the child development center to supervise lunch and snacks in proportions appropriate for age, and taking care of the child's food consumption, 3) creating pleasant eating environment, allowing at least 30-45 minutes for children to eat, 4) monitoring their growth in every month for at-risk children and every three months for children with normal nutritional status, and 5) empowering parents to promote food consumption behaviors and provide role models in food consumption for children. Finally, teachers and parents can apply these suggested guidelines to promote proper consumption behaviors and improve children’s growth suitable for their age.